Chapter 519: Trust Me Not
Dean and Veronica slowly make their way across the rooftops until they finally reach the back Police Station... Both stand just outside a third story window and cautiously peek through the dusty glass to see if there are any threats inside...
"*Bzztch!* You know, I never wanted to leave you, Veronica." Elijah says through Dean's collar, causing her brows to rise almost to her hairline in consternation.
She scoffs, "That's bullshit and you know it. You left us all to die simply because things didn't go your way... Like a child throwing a tantrum!"
"I admit, I did not act as well as I should have considering the stakes of the situation... But you know what it feels like, don't you? To have everyone's hopes solely on your shoulders until they suddenly deem you the cause of all their problems... They all FORCED ME TO LEAVE!" Elijah spits.
Veronica just shakes her head, "You can try to convince me all you want, but what you've done to Christine at Big Mt is unforgivable!"
...
"You know of Big Mountain?" Elijah asks after a moment of silence, curiosity thick in his tone.
Veronica doesn't reply, feeling as if she was getting dangerously close to revealing some of Bulwark's secrets...
"Then you must know of the horrific creatures and experiments that occurred there... You must know that I didn't have a choice over what happened to Royce. She was attacking me and she got caught in my escape attempt... It makes me sick to think what those mad scientists would have done in my absence..."
Veronica scowls, "What do you want, Elijah?"
"I don't want anything... I just think that you've been told horrible lies about me... Maybe if I told you where Royce was, you'd trust me a little more?" he asks, but this only confuses Veronica further.
"Why?"
Elijah sneers behind the monitor he was talking through, at her question, he schools his features and speaks in the softest tone he can manage, "Because despite it all, I still see you as a daughter of sorts, my daughter... You believe me, don't you?" he asks.
...
Veronica looks down at the floor with her hands balled into fists, "Tell me where Christine is and I might consider it..."
"Of course, I would never willingly lie to you, Veronica... Christine is being kept in the Medical District, you will find her in a malfunctioning Auto-Doc where she's unfortunately been trapped for weeks." he explains.
Veronica frowns, "Are you telling the truth? You aren't lying to me again, are you?"
"Not at all, believe me when I say you'll find Christine there. I only hope you'll find yourself able to trust me more once my words prove true... So long for now, my Apprentice.*Bzztch!*"
Veronica releases a long sigh at this and takes a glance at Dean who quickly shakes his head. Elijah could still be listening, so it was best to show his silent refusal to believe that bastard.
Veronica herself was pretty confused about the whole interaction. She knew Elijah was probably lying to her, but there'd be no point in refusing to search the Medical District since they had already planned to... Perhaps he'd laid a trap there? Or perhaps Christine was really there, and he had another sinister plan in the works?
She shakes the thoughts from her head and breaks the lock to the Police Station third floor window and forces it upwards, allowing them inside. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any Cloud present on this floor... However, within the hallway, the duo was currently standing there were two Ghosts slowly approaching them.
Veronica takes a sideways glance at Dean who nods in response, before charging the two enemies. Her fist shotgun colliding with the gas mask of the nearest Ghost, blowing a large hole in its head and turning it to mulch. It falls to the floor and starts squirming and seizing while a new head starts to grow in its place.
Dean fires some shots at the next one but it achieves almost nothing, small holes being created in the Hazmat suits which are quickly sealed by the Cloud-like substance. It slashes at Veronica with a knife, causing sparks when it collides with her armour... In fact, the attack had even left a small scratch in the Saturenite plating, which could only mean one thing... The knife was made from Saturenite Alloy!
Veronica grabs the wrist of the Ghost when it tries for another attack, headbutting it and giving an uppercut to its stomach, blowing a hole through its spine and back. Its legs go limp due to the damage to its spine, but that didn't mean it was out for the count.
She grabs it by the neck and throws it at a nearby window, sending it flying out and plummeting to the ground from three stories up.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Dean attempts to shoot the healing Ghost but its head continues to form without obstruction, it jumps on Veronica's back once it does, but due to it dropping its weapon after losing its head, it ineffectively flails its limbs at her head, arms, chest, and back.
More annoyed than threatened, Veronica grabs this one and tosses it out the window like the last. The other one softens its landing, but both collapsed into a heap, not able to move until their injuries heal... They wouldn't be a problem for them unless the duo wanted to exit out from that way. They certainly wouldn't be able to get back into the building.
Veronica glances back at Dean with a smirk hidden by her helmet, "Thanks for all your help, you really showed them." she jokes.
Dean chuckles, "Give me some armour like yours, and I might be more useful." he says with a shrug.
Veronica laughs, and they both begin going through all the nooks and crannies of the third floor of the Police Station, looking for anything that might be useful, or any place Christine might be held. Despite Elijah's words, Veronica was wary over trusting him too much, so it'd be best to look everywhere they could in case they miss something.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Niggross
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Chapter 520: The Point of Skills
Afton was still pacing around the barricaded reception of the Police Station, waiting for Anja to wake up so they could start moving again... Her state was a perilous one, and despite his wishes to find Veronica again, he didn't want to worsen her condition without something dire coming up.
There's also the fact that if he left her, she'd be vulnerable to any Ghosts that manage to wander by... Even now he could hear their almost rhythmic banging against the barricaded entrance...
*GASP!*
Afton's attention is quickly drawn to Anja who'd just sucked in a breath, she tries to sit up but finds herself unable to, her body coughs but yet again, she seems unable too... The sheer damage done to he throat and lungs might even be preventing her from taking in oxygen... In which case, there was nothing he could do for her.
"Anja! I'm here, focus on my voice." he says, resting a hand on her shoulder and the back of her head.
She trembles, her body twitching as if every pain receptor was activating at once... Which Afton wouldn't be surprised if they were... "S-s-sir! E-everything h-hurts!" she stutters out, her hands slowly clasping each other as if she was trying to feel if they were still there...
"You got hurt Anja, badly. I managed to stabilise you but the damage you took was... Extensive." he explains, not attempting to sugar coat it as the pain she was feeling right now would make it obvious he was lying.
"S-sir... I-I can't see!" she fearfully mutters, her hands hesitantly approaching her face, brushing against her cheeks and eventually towards her empty eye sockets... Her hands jolt away from her face as she realises her eyes were gone, the painful truth surely screaming itself raw in her mind.
Afton gives a solemn nod, "The Cloud destroyed your eyes before I could pull you out. But don't worry, the Think Tank are already designing implants, we could make you new eyes! Everything will be alright, trust me on this." he reassures, deciding not to say that implants might not be an option due to the damage to her optical nerves.
She slowly nods, her trust in him as great as it was when he freed her from the Fiends. "W-where are the others?" she asks, patting herself over but only finding her Saturnite knife and Revolver.
"When we got ambushed I jumped off the roof after you, they were left with whatever attacked us... I think they're ok, if they are they'd meet us here, in the Police Station... We can stay here and wait if you're not feeling up to it though." he offers.
Anja slowly shakes her head, forcing herself up and cautiously finding her feet, hanging them off of the table and dropping onto the ground. "W-we are still looking for your sister, right sir?"
Afton nods, "Yes." he states, as they'd find Christine no matter how injured they became.
"Then, we should look around while we wait for the others to come... I-I might need help getting around though." she says in a sad tone, seemingly more upset that she wasn't able to be useful than the fact she'd lost her sight.
"Alright... Hold onto my back, I'll lead... But before that..." Afton slashes his Ultra Chainsword at the nearest wall, leaving a message for Dean and Veronica to let them know they were here should they find the place empty.
With that done, Afton leads Anja into the next room, walking through the hallways in an attempt to find the basement... If Christine was here, that's where he'd bet she'd be. They walk past a couple of empty interrogation rooms and a staircase leading to the second floor, but he ignores all of these for now.
They do encounter a few Ghosts, but Afton easily 'disarms' them... As well as 'dislegging' and 'disheading' them. Once their bodyparts are scattered a good distance from each other he continues to move.
The only real place of interest would be the armoury, someone seems to have tried to break inside judging by the scratch marks, scorch marks, and other dents visible in and around the lock... All the reckless attempts seem to have completely destroyed the lock, making it impossible for most to get inside.
Afton wasn't most.
With a clean slash of his energy blade the metal parts, the armoured gate slowly opening wide and allowing the duo entry. Afton takes the time to look around the place for anything of interest, but the armoury is only filled with crappy Bullet-resistant vests, badly maintained revolvers, nightsticks, flashbangs, and other miscellaneous equipment.
He did, however, find a dusty comic book of Grognak the Barbarian, a Skillbook to be more accurate. The only problem was the fact he'd already maxed out his Melee Weapons skill, and wasn't sure what it'd do if he used it.
Shrugging to himself, he just decides to use it to see what would happen...
[Skillpoints to Points] : 3/15
...
Huh... That's unexpected, he needed 15 Skillpoints to gain another point to use on anything else? Isn't that kind of overpowered... There were still hundreds of Skillbooks lying around the Wasteland, if he used all of them he'd basically become a god, wouldn't he?...
He's lost in thought for a couple of minutes until he feels a tug on his back, he almost jumps in response, having forgotten that Anja was still here... It's actually fortunate that she's unable to see the Skillbook turn to dust in his hands due to her condition... It'd be a massive pain in the ass to explain it to her, and eventually the others when they hear about it.
"I'm still here... There's nothing of interest, let's move on." he says, leading Anja out of the armoury and towards where the basement should be.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross
Niggross
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